RIP Nigel Farage – Long Live the Double-Breasted Suit!

There are so many reasons to dislike Nigel Farage, it’s hard to know where to start. However, since this is a menswear blog we’ll sideline the politics for now and focus on just how much we loathe his style…

Nigel Farage and the Double-Breasted Suit

For years the double-breasted suit was considered the epitome of naffness. For the Old Spice-wearing 1980’s Lothario wannabe who thought that having power meant wearing a power suit. For the man who thought Miami Vice was cool with no sense of irony…

However, after many years languishing in a sartorial wasteland, the double-breasted suit started to make a comeback. With the right cut, the right cloth and of course the right fit, the double-breasted suit is a wonderful example of traditional tailoring at it’s finest: refined, proud and 100% British.

Thankfully, Nigel Farage’s version of double-breasted is so far removed from the modern, elegant suits that our customers order so as not to be a real threat. He is Alan Partridge. He is Roger Moore. He is mother-in-law jokes. He is a naff throwback to late 1970s Britain – the diametric opposite to the modern, intelligent gentleman reading this article.

The winner of our 2015 photography competition - looking splendid at his English country wedding.The winner of our 2015 photography competition – looking splendid at his English country wedding.

Thankfully, Nigel Farage’s version of double-breasted is so far removed from the modern, elegant suits that our customers order so as not to be a real threat. He is Alan Partridge. He is Roger Moore. He is mother-in-law jokes. He is a naff throwback to late 1970s Britain – the diametric opposite to the modern, intelligent gentleman reading this article.

Nigel Farage has proven time and again that he has the ability to ruin so much that crosses his path. Let the double-breasted style be a metaphor for British politics: we will survive this knock to our reputation and weather this storm, despite his attempts to sink us. We will continue the hard work we’ve put in over the years, and history will remember him as a minor blot on our copybook.

The term ‘pinstripe’ refers to the very thin, parallel lines that run through a cloth, contrasting with the main colour. Taken at face value, it would seem to be a fairly bland description of a simple fabric pattern. But the history of the pinstripe suit is anything from bland and, indeed, the suit itself has a host of connotations attached to it.

The new Peaky Blinders series is back with a bang and we’re not just talking about the storylines. As ever, Tommy and his crew look as sharp as the razor blades the real-life Peaky Blinder gang were rumoured to stitch into the peak of their flat caps.

Nothing pulls an outfit together more than the addition of an overcoat. It's been a staple in the fashion landscape for years and has recently had something of a resurgence in the public imagination...